NRLCA Poised To Ratify A New Deal
Rural Carriers are poised to vote on a new contract between the NRLCA and the USPS. Most of the benefits will be towards relief retention but there are some good things in the language, one being the clarification of a mutual transfer and others not to be realized until in the year 2009 like more postal provided right-hand-drive vehicles to the tune of 3000 per year until another 15000 vehicles are added to the fleet. Name recognition on the vehicles will benefit the company and not having to make as many trips during heavy parcel demands will save the USPS money on gas and get that LOGO in the field. We will lose a small bit towards our share of health care coverage, but with health care rising as fast as it has, we really should be getting more help not less. NALC made that very clear by walking away from what they were offered. We are going to be undermined by Contract Delivery Routes while traditionally we got the improved rural areas, and contract routes were 1 box per mile or less over much rougher access roads even though we were getting what once was solely reserved for City delivery, that has arrived on the chopping blocks of districts everywhere. Some of the older contract routes are getting city style delivery and the new Contract Delivery Routes will get the cream of the crop. It appears that secure jobs with benefits are reserved for management and no one else. A living wage will have to come from more than one full time wage earner and multiple jobs each. inflation has flat out eaten into the living wage of today for postal employees of all stripes.
